Turkey to deport British woman detained on way to Syria

A British woman detained this week by Turkish police on suspicion of seeking to join Islamic State (IS) insurgents in Syria was sent to Istanbul today to be deported to Britain, Anatolia news agency reported.

Ankara: A British woman detained this week by Turkish police on suspicion of seeking to join Islamic State (IS) insurgents in Syria was sent to Istanbul today to be deported to Britain, Anatolia news agency reported.

The 21-year-old woman, identified as Jalila Nadra H., was detained on Monday at the bus station in Ankara.

The woman travelled to Istanbul Thursday morning for deportation after being questioned by police in Ankara, the report said.

Her detention comes after Turkey arrested three male teenagers at an Istanbul airport suspected of seeking to join jihadist fighters in Syria. The trio were deported to Britain where they were released on bail on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism.

Turkey has stepped up border security in the face of Western criticism that it is not doing enough to prevent transit of foreign fighters across its volatile border.

The success of British and Turkish officials in recent weeks in getting the teenagers home contrasts with the failure to stop three British girls reaching Syria earlier this year.

London school friends Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-olds Shamima Begum and Amira Abase followed the path of another schoolfriend who left for Syria in December.

Turkish authorities announced last week they had arrested an intelligence agent working as a spy for an unidentified country in the US-led coalition, who is claimed to have helped the three British girls reach Syria.